Hey noodle what did you do today?

Well I woke up a few times in the morning before ultimately getting up around 10ish. I got myself ready for the day, packed, and headed out. I went to BK and grabbed a Whopper and fries and a Conke and a spicy chicken sammich and some mozzarella sticks. I ate them while en route to Crater Lake, but because the roads were reallllllly winding, I pule]led over to eat the sticks. Along the way I did stop to grab a photo of the wet, miserable, lovely forest. Giant trees towered over the road and blocked out almost all of the gray skies, and only the most stalwart raindrops could make it through to the ground.

I continued on to Crater Lake, and the rain turned mushy. By the time I got to Crater Lake Visitor Station there was no doubt: It was snowing. I put on my jacket and went inside. I stamped my book, then watched a movie about the area. It had been a volcano, but it spewed and then collapsed, then filled with water. After, I bought some swag and did a little hike. Not much, since the worker aid it was possible we'd get snowed in, but it was a short hike several hundred feet behind the ranger station to a carving of a woman on a rock.

From there I drove around the rim of the lake, hoping for a good view...But it was white out conditions and I had to drive between 20 and 35 MPH and when I parked, the lake was completely invisible beneath the snow clouds. A bit disappointing I couldn't see the lake, but I did get to experience snow in a wonderfully romantic area! <3

Eventually I found phone signal and made my way toward Yellowstone. It was a 14 hour journey and I knew I'd never make the full drive, but I started!

I drove beyond the clouds and into more alpine forest. I tried to grab a cache en route, failed to find it, then snagged another after. I took some back roads through more alpine forests, but these were pock marked with miles-long stretches of marshes. I continued on, grabbed another cache beside a small creek named Silver Creek, then on to a tiny town with a sizable Hispanic population where I grabbed some gas and continued on.

By now the alpines and marshes had been replaced with shrubland desert, and more rain fell as I drove through. The precipitation eventually waned, and I was able to drive through more of the desert as it was illuminated by dramatic orange clouds intermingling with dark purple ones. These long, lonely stretches of road began to darken and the Sun cast awe-inspiring pinks onto the Earth, making the distant hills look as if they were on fire.

Eventually I got cell signal and turned onto a busier road. I had a cache up that showed where a rest area was located, and I happily drove to the back of the lot, parked, and tried to find the cache...However it was super dark and the cache was about 1/5 a mile into the desert, so I figured I'd leave it for the morning. I headed back to my car and fell into a bit of a sadness, but after tormenting myself with it for about an hour I finally went to sleep.

I hope everyone has a snowy Crater Lake day! <333